Mouse Pad News (27)

MSI has officially unveiled its latest consumer product, the Xield5 gaming mousepad. This latest mousepad from MSI is comprised of a cloth-surface that features the company’s gaming dragon graphics, which is featured on a variety of different MSI offerings. Nature bamboo-rubber makes up the filler of the Xield5 gaming mousepad and the product measures a massive 760mm x 560mm and weighs in at 730g. The MSI Xield5 gaming mousepad is targeted at users who want to fill up their desk with a premium surface in order to organize their desk.

Pricing and availability of the Xield5 gaming mousepad has not been announced by MSI.

Cooler Master, a leading creator, innovator, and manufacturer of desktop components and accessories, has just announced the CM Storm Swift RX mousepad series. The new mousepads are made of textured microscopic mesh that ensures ultimate precision, special treated stitched edges that reduce fraying, and a natural rubber base that holds the product in place. The CM Storm Swift RX mousepad series serve as a replacement to the highly successful Speed-RX series mousepads that have served gamers for quite some time.

The Storm Swift RX mousepad series from Cooler Master will be available to purchase sometime this month and will be offered in three sizes, including small, medium, and large.

Tesoro, a manufacturer of high-tech gaming products, has officially released the Ancile Z1. The Ancile Z1, which is named after the sacred shield of the Roman god Mars, is a hard gaming mouse pad that offers gamers high precision mouse control. The Tesoro Ancile Z1 features a unibody construction, a low friction surface, high texture density, and reflecting surface technology. The latest mouse pad from Tesoro also comes with a non-slip rubber base that keeps the product stationary while gaming.

The Ancile Z1 carries an MSRP of $29 and is currently available in the North American market from various retailers such as Tesoro Gaming USA, Newegg, Amazon, and NCIX.

Tesoro Technology USA Inc., a manufacturer of high-tech gaming products—and the company kind enough to sponsor our current giveaway—has just announced a brand new mouse pad designed for gamers in mind. To design the very best gaming mouse pad it could deliver, Tesoro teamed up with renowned professional e-sport organization Virtus.Pro and used the latest 3D fabric techniques. The result? The Tesoro Virtus.Pro, featuring a high-texture density and ultra smooth surface great for both optical and laser mice, a soft touch providing excellent wrist support and comfortable mousing, and an anti-slip design thanks to a rubber base.

The Tesoro Virtus.Pro measures in at a rather large 14.2" (L) x 11.8" (W) x 0.12" (H), and features the Virtus.Pro logo prominently displayed along with the Tesoro logo. The mouse pad will be available in the United States at the end of September via Tesoro Gaming USA, Newegg, Amazon, and NCIX, for an MSRP of US$24.

COUGAR, a leading brand in eSports and computer peripherals, has just launched two new gaming mouse pads, the CONTROL and SPEED. The company has engineer both gaming mouse pads in such a way that they can be used with regular mice or high-performance mice, making them perfect for casual and professional users alike. Both CONTROL and SPEED mouse pads are available in three different sizes and feature an optimized 4mm thickness, a right angle wave structure and anti-slip natural rubber base, and durable surfaces. The CONTROL mouse pad incorporates a three-dimensional textured surface that provides a smooth and precise mouse targeting experience. Meanwhile, the SPEED mouse pad comes with a high-definition textured surface that allows for fast and extra smooth mouse sliding movements.

Thermaltake is well known for a variety cases, cooling and power supplies, with its Tt eSPORTS division handling peripherals. It recently introduced a new member to that family: the Tt eSPORTS DRACONEM aluminum mouse pad. This dual-sided mouse pad is one of the larger aluminum models on the market, as it comes in at 360x300x5mm. The aluminum frame features a brushed anodized finish for a clean style and long life no matter how much you game. Speaking of gaming, one side of the DRACONEM is low-friction for the quickest movements possible, while the other is high-control for when you need utmost precision. An attachable mouse bungee is provided to keep your mouse cord out of the way, and Tt eSPORTS has designed it to fit on any side of the DRACONEM. Four rubber grips adorn the corners to keep the mouse pad in place.

The Tt eSPORTS DRACONEM aluminum mouse pad should be available soon for $39.99.

ROCCAT has unleashed their new custom developed gaming mousepad, the Siru. The new mousepad features a design that is less than a millimeter thick, making the ROCCAT Siru one of the thinnest mousepads ever manufactured. While the device is thin, it also incorporates other features such as a high glide surface that not only provides outstanding control and precise cursor tracking, but is also easy to clean. ROCCAT has engineered the gaming mousepad with a reusable non-slip backing that makes sure the Siru stays stationary during use. ROCCAT has tested over 80 laser and optical mice in order to ensure that the mousepad can be used with any mice currently available.

The ROCCAT Siru gaming mousepad is available in two unique colors, Cryptic Blue and Pitch Black.

Ozone Gaming has announced the Meet The Pro mousepad series, created with the help of feedback from professional gaming teams. The pad is made with a microfiber material and has a rubber base to help keep it in place during gaming sessions. A total of three different models will be available, with each sporting the logo of a different pro team. Gamers will be able to choose from the K1ck, MVP, and Giants editions. The Meet The Pro series will be available in September of this year.

Cooler Master has announced a trio of new mouse pads geared towards gamers, the RX Series. The Control-RX features a smooth Lycra surface with extra thickness for comfort, aimed at gamers that use low DPI mice. The Power-RX has an extra large surface area and is made with Surgical Strike Surface material for "precise and intricate movements." The Speed-RX rounds out the lineup with a microscopic synthetic mesh surface providing optimum precision for optical and laser sensors.

Corsair has announced that it is adding mouse mats to its Vengeance lineup of products, designed to improve the performance of gaming mice. The Vengeance MM200 has a soft surface with fray-resistant edges and a non-slip rubber base. It will be available in four sizes, small, medium/large, extra large, and wide and will range in price from $12.99 to $24.99. The Vengeance MM400 is a hard surface mat that is designed to work best with laser mice and will be available in a single size for a price of $29.99.

Today marks the first day of a new contest being launched by XFX where it'll be giving away a new XFX WarPad each day for the entire month of September. The requirements are fairly simple: users need to like XFX on Facebook and then post a picture of their old mouse pad. That's it! Unfortunately, the contest is open to U.S. residents only and complete rules can be found here. Good Luck!

Razertoday unveiled its updated line of Goliathus gaming mouse maths. The new mouse mats feature anti-fray stitching around the edges, helping to prolong the mat's life. Razer President USA, Robert "RazerGuy" Krakoff went on to say that "the RazerGoliathus is our pride and joy when it comes to soft mats, designed with professional gaming-validated weaves for an exceptional mouse swiping experience. Now with anti-fray edges, you can go forth and frag even harder, worry-free." Standard features such as pixel-precise tracking and a rubberized base still remain across the series. As always, the Goliathus series consists of two editions, a Control Edition and a Speed Edition. The Control Edition offers a textured weave for more precise movements where as the Speed Edition's cloth weave supports fast mouse work. The Goliathus series is available now in four sizes: space-efficient (Omega), mid-sized (Standard), large-sized (Alpha) and desktop length (Extended), retailing between US$14.99 and US$34.99.

Roccat is preparing its newest mousepad, the RoccatAlumic. The Alumic features a double-sided design, allowing users to switch between the control and speed sides to suit their style of gaming. The control side has a smoother surface to support quick, sweeping movements where as the speed side is rougher in texture to assist gamers using high-resolution mice. The mousepad also includes four rubber non-slip feet and a gel wrist-pad for comfortable gaming. The Alumic also has an aluminium core to prevent deformation, measures 331x272mm and is 3mm thick. The RoccatAlumicmouspad will be available later this month for approximately US$55 (€39.99)

Razertoday released two mouse mats as part of its the Goliathus Extended series. The new series consists of two models, the Goliathus Extended Control and Goliathus Extended Speed. Both mouse mats are effectively the same as their predecessors, retaining a cloth weave and rubber base with one main difference; size. Both mats are extra-large, measuring in at a behemoth 920x294x4.3mm. While I'm not sure if I would be able to make use of such a gigantic mouse pad, I'm sure that other gamers would love to try out Razer's over-sized offerings.

As both mats are limited edition products, only 10,000 units of each model will be available. Both variants in the Goliathus Extended series are available now from Razer'sonline store for US$34.99 each.

Razertoday unveiled the Scarab mouse mat, an enhanced version of its predecessor, the RazerDestructor. The Razer Scarab features an improved Razer Fractal 2.0 textured surface with a crystal coating to deliver more accurate and faster tracking. The new mouse mat also includes an updated rubber base for greater stability and will be bundled with a hard carrying case for extra protection. The Scarab mouse mat is suitable for both optical and laser mice and measures in at 350x280x3mm (WxLxH). The Razer Scarab mouse mat will be available this month for US$39.99.

Razer is getting ready to release a new mousepad on the world, this time a new metal one that is designed to enhance the gliding capabilities of your mouse. The new mousepad is called the Razer Ironclad and it features a finely sandblasted surface that feels smooth to the touch. The sandblasted surface will minimize hand discomfort which should allow for longer sessions at the computer. There is just enough friction on the pad to give you precise targeting in a game without feeling too slick. The Ironclad is made from anodized aluminum and features an extra-large surface area that measures 320mm long and 270mm wide. It is also only 2.5mm high so it will just barely sit above your desk's surface. The bottom of the Ironclad has a non-slip rubber base to help keep it in place during heavy gaming. It is an all-white mousepad and comes with a carrying case to better protect it if you take it with to a LAN party.

The Razer Ironclad mousepad will be available in October for the U.S. and November for the rest of the world. Pricing will be $59.99.

Both manufacturers, Razer and SteelSeries, mainly rule the gaming world with their mice, keyboards, headsets, and even mouse pads. While both companies offer a broad spectrum of products to suite the needs of gamers across the world, SteelSeries is now offering a new limited edition Sudden Attack mouse that will retail for $79.99, which will offer built-in macro capabilities for RTS games as well as MMO gaming situations. Along with the new mouse that will feature a camouflage design on the top portion of it, a mouse pad that follows the same design will also be released as a limited edition product. The Sudden Attack mouse pad will offer a non-slip backing surface, and will sell for roughly $11.99, appealing to the more thrifty consumers in the gaming peripheral market.

Razer, manufacturer of some of the finest gaming peripherals on the market, has announced two new products that will be added to its main product list. The largest announcement being a new MMO mouse called the Naga that will sell for $79.99 and be catered specifically to MMO players. Many high-end features are included with the mouse, such as a 5600 dpi 3.5G laser sensor, 1ms response time, 200 inches per second tracking speed, along with seventeen buttons located on the mouse for special use in MMO gaming experiences. Software add-ons for certain titles will also be available for users to customize their Naga with to allow for more fluid gaming while playing their favorite Massive Multiplayer Online game. Along with their announcement of the new mouse, Razer is also introducing a new mouse pad named the Megasoma, which is meant to offer a medium between soft and hard mouse pads. The new surface compliments the Naga nicely, though any of Razer’s mouse pads will also do that; the Megasoma will sell for $49.99.

Denmark based manufacturer of professional gaming peripherals, SteelSeries today announced three new additions to its lineup. First up is the SteelSeriesXai Laser Mouse. The Xai features an ambidextrous design, 7 macro buttons, driver-less plug and play (with 5 profiles), an LCD display on the bottom to configure settings, a high definition 10.8 megapixels/second sensor and up to 5001 CPI, to name a few. The Xai was developed over three years of extensive research in conjunction with professional gamers from the U.S., Europe and Asia for maximum performance in fast paced gaming situations.

Next up, is the Kinzu Optical Mouse which is based around the same shape as the Xai but 7% smaller in size boasts a 3200 CPI and is designed with compactness, reliability and stability in mind. The Kinzu also includes a CPI toggle for on-the-fly adjustments, a slip-resistant coating and low-friction polyethylene feet.

Last, but not least is the SteelSeries 9HD hard plastic gaming surface created to enable gamers to perform very precise mouse movements and "slingshots" with a high degree of control. The 9HD achieves this by utilizing thousands of light reflecting microscopic points for enhanced tracking by sensors. The 9HD was developed in conjunction with the Xai and is designed to allow high definition mice to perform at their full potential.

The Xai will retail for around US$114/€79.99, while the Kinzu and 9HD will set you back approximately $US50/€34.99 each. All three peripherals will be available from next month. This announcement seems to coincide pretty nicely with Razer's announcement on Thursday of the Orochi and Kabuto. All I can say is that more competition is better for everyone!

Razer today announced two new products for notebook gamers and enthusiasts. The first is the Razer Orochi laser mouse featuring dual mode wired/wireless connectivity with Bluetooth 2.0 support. The Orochi comes equipped with a 4000dpi 3G laser sensor for increased control and accuracy. The ambidextrous design and detachable 3-foot cord make it easy to use. The Orochi also comes with seven programmable buttons, on board memory, up 100 inches per second movement speed and a custom carrying case.

The Razer Kabuto mouse mat is the perfect travel companion to the mouse and it's made of ultra-thin microfiber material with a rubber backing to keep the pad secure during intense gaming sessions.

The Orochi will first be available from the Razer web site in mid-August and then make its way worldwide by September. Pricing is expected to be $79.99/€79.99. The Kabuto will be priced at $19.99/€19.99 with availability in August.

Gaming peripherals maker, Razer has launched its latest product: the Razer Sphex gaming grade desktop skin. Razer claims that the Sphex is the thinnest mouse surface ever and that it will offer top notch performance at an affordable price. The Sphex also features an adhesive enabling it to be stuck to a surface, preventing disruptive movement. The Sphex will retail for US$15 and first orders will ship on July 1. Preorders are available over on the Razer Store. I think the Sphex looks like a Goliathus gone on a diet, but only reviews and time will tell how it stacks up to its bigger brother and its competitors.

Razer also showcased the Razer Destructor at CES. The Destructor is a gaming-grade surface co-developed with pro-gaming teams. Engineered for optical and laser mice, the Razer Destructor is coated in a highly reactive gunmetal finish. Gaming-grade optical mice can track up to 25% better on the Razer Destructor, and gaming-grade laser mice can track up to 37% better on the Razer Destructor when compared to other gaming-mousing surfaces which are designed specifically for extremely precise movements. The ultra-wide size (350mm x 280mm) is ideal for continuous, rapid swipes and features a non-slip rubber base for firm grip on smooth surfaces. The pad also comes with a premium lightweight protective case. The pad is expected to be available January 2008 for US: $39.99; Europe: €39.99.

The last day of 2007 yields an interesting collection of items from around the web so while you're waiting for the final countdown 'til 2008 have a look at what we found. There are several guides out there today beginning with the Formatting and Partitioning a Hard Drive at PCSTATS. Next up is the Sound Card Buying Guide and the NVIDIA GeForce 8800 GTS 512MB Overclocking Guide, both from Tech ARP. Madshrimps has an interview with the president of Razer titled Razer Prez Shares His Thoughts On The Gaming Market. Moving along to the hardware arena we have the Tuniq Miniplant 950w PSU reviewed by Overclocker Cafe. For notebook owners looking for additional connectivity options, check out the APIOTEK Laptop Accessory Cards at Motherboards.org. DDR2 memory is still alive and kicking and currently provides a price advantage over DDR3 modules and TweakTown has the OCZ DDR2 PC2-6400 ReaperX HPC 4GB Kit up for review. While the Reaper series comes with a heatpipe cooling design, your current memory may be in need of some additional cooling help and that's where the Scythe Kama Wing Memory Heatsink reviewed by 3dGameMan comes in. Speaking of cooling, TweakTown brings us a look at the OCZ Freeze Thermal Interface Material and compares its performance against several other offerings on the market. Overclocker Cafe has a look at the HIS Radeon HD3850 IceQ3 TurboX and Madshrimps has the Cyber Snipa Tracer Mouse Pad for your reading enjoyment. In the mobile department, Tech ARP has an overview of the Samsung SGH-D880 Dual SIM Mobile Phone. The Logitech Wave Keyboard is an ergonomic board designed for extended typing sessions and you can find a review at Motherboards.org.

HardwareLogic - The Steelseries S&S is an extremely well balanced mouse pad. It’s got the surface area for all but the most demanding gamers, as well as a slick surface making it suitable for both high and low sensitivities. We tried very hard to find something glaringly wrong with this pad, but ultimately couldn’t. The only real gripe we can muster is that the rubber grip might peel off as time goes on, though it showed no signs of doing so during our testing. Retailing for R39.95 USD, the Steelseries S&S costs twice as much as the previously reviewed Steelseries QcK+.

techPowerUp - The XTracPads Ripper is the smaller brother of the Ripper XXL. The mouse pad series comes in three different sizes, all with a wide aspect ratio. The thin cloth pad is incredibly soft and comfortable, with the under-padding clinging to the table quite nicely. We give a few mice a hurl on the Ripper to see if the unique aspect ratio is just what a gamer needs.

XSReviews.co.uk - "Rantopads aren’t particularly well-known, in fact this is my first insight into their products. Offering several types for different gamer’s tastes, there is sure to be one that suits your playing style."
XSReviews.co.uk has reviewed three different pads from Rantopad:
- Rantopad P4
- Rantopad Super C4
- Rantopad Mammoth

techPowerUp - The Ideazon Fragmat rounds up the company's offerings with a unique mouse pad, which features a hard plastic surface with a thin but soft underlining. It is also available in multiple themes and is big enough for high and mid sensitivity gamers. We give the pad a test run and let you know if it is something for the crowd of all-round gamers.

TechPowerUp - The XTracPads Zoom is incredibly thin and lightweight. In fact it is thinner than the pad's own packaging. The Zoom is meant for speed and the low height should make it quite comfortable. We take a few mice for a spin and let you know if the hard surface stays in place and does the job.